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Everyone knows someone, at this time, who is unemployed. Meanwhile, 75% of the population is afraid of losing their jobs... like a pile of ants scurrying to get out of the rain, no one knows which direction to go.

Three and a half years ago, I was 7 months pregnant (yes, at the age of 40) when I was hit by a company truck running a red light. Witnesses and even the driver admit he caused my three-day-old car’s irrepairable damage. No disagreements here, except for the attorneys going to lunch on a regular basis. I fired him, finally, but too late.

I have a herniated and two bulging disks, no medical insurance, as I was taking a temporary job while pregnant and had missed my qualifying day by less than a week. It’s impossible to sit for long, or stand for long and at my age, single with two kids and having the litter to pick from, I’m seldom more than a blur of paper crossing a desk. After working at the same job for years before the pregnancy, I counted up my jobs to be discouraged and disappointed to realize that my “you‘re over-qualified” and “we‘re downsizing” after two and a half years, amounted to almost 10 jobs! I persevered, and finally lost.

Unable to cooperate sexually was overwhelming frustrating to my daughter’s father. After 6 months, three days before his daughter’s birthday, he decided we were moving out because he was going waterskiing for the weekend with his ex and two teenaged boys. It bites, but obviously I’m relieved, he wasn’t the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with, or have my three-year-old participate with.

I found a place to move into at the end of the July, as requested, but he changed his mind when he discovered this and gave me two days. We lived in a hotel for over a month (thank goodness for my 401k and unemployment which sustained us for a month).

The amazing thing is that on my daughter’s birthday, I was reserving every cent I had for surival, but came across a gift card from last year’s Christmas for dinner at Chili’s. We walked and ate while pretended we weren’t homeless. The kids believed we were on an adventure!

Sitting across from us was a single woman, patiently keeping the waitress at bay while she waited for her friend. When her friend arrived, the two women discussed the new arrival’s latest dating excursion, which apparently didn’t go so well. The first woman reaffirmed, telling her not to give up, there are a lot of eligible and tempting men available. I found myself quietly rolling my eyes and becoming reaquainted with my daughter’s party as the ice cream sundae arrived. As we were packing up the stroller to leave, one woman commented on my daughter’s huge blue eyes.

Unable to stop myself, I half-laughed and asked the woman where all of these mystery men were. One conversation led to another, although I was not truly interested in men, and I was invited to attend their church service with a business card. Without questioning or giving a choice to attend, I let them know I’d be there. I’ve attended 3 weeks in a row now.

I soon found myself in an uncomfortable decision of having to choose between the storage of everything I owned for $140 or a hotel for a week, unable to decide where to go after. The woman who had participated in the “unfortunate” date, approached me on my second week at church and asked me if everything was okay. I found myself breaking down for the first time, weeping and spilling my guts about what I didn’t have permission to discuss before. She opened her door to us, although she is single with two teens of her own, not knowing how long we’d be there. This was an opporunity! I could keep my earthly possessions, and I took it! We had dinner with her amazing family (identical to my own, but each is 5 years older... from her 47 years, down to my daughter) and personalities almost identical to our own. We stayed one night.

The following day, an unusual shelter, Family Promise, invited us to join them. Four families, taken in by multiple denominations and churches, have been supporting us for the past week.

Social security should be kicking in within the next few months... my daughter’s child support should be coming in within the next couple of months, and in the meantime I’m publishing a book through Amazon.com entitled, The Real Big Foot and working on a movie called Bath House Murders. My true calling is creativity... this is a strange way to go about telling me I was in the wrong line of work, but I’ll take it!

The working arena is terrible, not set to improve (according to the experts) for a year and a half. By then, my future should be well underway....

mbshus, I honestly can’t wait to hear about the next part of your adventure, I just have a feeling God has meant you for amazing things! Thank you for sharing your story with us, I will keep you and your girls in my prayers!

Keep being open to the help that is coming in your direction. It’s a sign that God indeed has plans for you and is putting people in your path who will help you along the way. I don’t want to minimize the situation; I know that what you are going through is so very difficult. I believe that you will walk through this and come out the other side with blessings too numerous to count.